X‘s plan to increase revenue by selling inactive usernames on its service is starting to take shape. According to recent changes to the X web app, the company is launching a “descriptor request” process that will allow verified organizations – companies and other organizations that already have a $1,000/month subscription to X – to bid on abandoned X descriptors. These bids will start at $10,000 and can go up to more than $500,000, according to the FAQ found on the web app.
The update was first spotted by reverse engineer Nima Owji, who told TechCrunch that the changes to the web app appeared on Wednesday. However, the website where organizations can purchase the handle is not yet available to the public.
The idea of making money by selling descriptors is something that Elon Musk’s company X used to do. In January 2023, The New York Times reported that the company, then called Twitter, was considering creating an online auction where handles could be bid on.
Musk has also long supported the idea of freeing up the X namespace for active users, having already deleted a number of inactive accounts on the service back in May 2023.
In November 2023, Forbes also reported that X was actively looking for buyers who might be interested in acquiring unused descriptors, but no official announcement was made. X’s documentation on inactive accounts states that the company is “unable to release inactive usernames at this time,” although there have been reports of people buying usernames on X outside of the official process.
By allowing companies to officially purchase desirable usernames, X could generate another revenue stream beyond subscriptions, advertising, and developer access. This move could also encourage other X users to continue posting if they don’t want their nickname to be unused and then put up for sale.
The FAQ currently answers several common questions that X users may have about this process, including how to start a handle request, what the sale process looks like, and how the transfer will take place.
As explained on the still non-public website, interested users will work with an automated support bot to start a request for the username they want to purchase, and X will respond if the descriptor is available within three business days. After the name is purchased, it will be transferred to the new owner within one to two days, or it can be transferred to another account that the company already has, the FAQ says.
